The condition of a Franklin Pierce University student whose skull was fractured in an on-campus assault earlier in the month is improving, his mother said Thursday.
Alba Lopez said at the Cheshire Superior Court that her son, 22-year-old Alejandro Lopez-Wheeler, is out of critical condition and is currently in a rehabilitation facility.
“I can’t believe someone who almost killed my son is home free,” Lopez said, after speaking with the prosecutor of the case. “I’m happy my son is alive.”
Lopez and around a dozen other people gathered at the courthouse on Thursday afternoon for a scheduled arraignment hearing for Travis P. Flagg, 18, of Gardner, Massachusetts.
The hearing was called off, however, because documents were filed to waive the arraignment, prosecuting attorney Jean Kilham said.
Flagg has been charged with second degree assault, a class B felony, and simple assault, a class A misdemeanor, in connection with the assault, which occurred on Dec. 1.
He is currently released on personal recognizance bail – according to a bail order signed Dec. 11 – provided he have no contact with Lopez-Wheeler, not consume any alcohol, and not set foot on the FPU campus.
Kilham said no plea agreements have been negotiated at this time, calling the documentation filed Thursday the “first phase” of the case.
A court clerk said a judge will not be in until Monday to approve the documents filed. The documents were not available to view on Thursday.
Lopez-Wheeler – who is listed as a sophomore and a pitcher for the university’s baseball team on the the university’s athletic department website – was located outside of the Lakeview Townhouses on campus by first responders at around 1:17 a.m on Dec. 1.
Lopez-Wheeler was found unconscious on the pavement, bleeding from his head, eyes, nose, and mouth, according to an affidavit on file with the court.
Witnesses told officers police officers that Lopez-Wheeler had been “sucker punched” in the head. Witnesses further said he had fallen backwards while apparently unconscious and struck his head on the ground.
Lopez-Wheeler did not regain consciousness before he was taken to the intensive care unit (ICU) at UMass Memorial Medical Center in Worcester, Massachusetts.
The affidavit said Lopez told police her son was admitted with a fractured skull, brain swelling, bleeding and fluid in the brain, and short term memory loss.
During a review of surveillance footage, police noted that Lopez-Wheeler and a male suspect met in the parking lot.
“I further observed that both were close together, but then Lopez-Wheeler appeared to step back, at which point the suspect struck him in the area of the jaw, with his right hand,” the affidavit reads.
One of the witnesses told police in a follow up interview that he didn’t allow a group of males to enter his Lakeview house, which Lopez-Wheeler was inside.
Lopez-Wheeler joked with the unknown group of males after they were refused entry into one of the Lakeview houses, the witness said.
The witness said Lopez-Wheeler and one of the males – later identified as Flagg –engaged in a conversation after Lopez-Wheeler jokingly asked what the group of males would do if he kissed one of them.
Lopez-Wheeler and Flagg were broken up by the witness. They later reengaged, which is when Flagg punched Lopez-Wheeler.
One of the people in Flagg’s group that night admitted to police that Flagg had thrown the punch, but added that Lopez-Wheeler had caused the fight by pretending to kiss one of the members in the group and getting in Flagg’s face.
Flagg told police that Lopez-Wheeler had made first contact by making physical contact with his chest on two separate occasions.
Police reviewed surveillance footage and did not observe Lopez-Wheeler making physical contact with Flagg.
Nicholas Handy can be reached at 924-7172 ext. 235 or nhandy@ledgertranscript.com.